From: Ian blenkharn@ianblenkharn.com
Category: News & information
Date: 27 Mai 2008
Time: 19:22:30 +0200
Remote Name: 86.133.197.11
"A woman has been fined nearly £300 for leaving her bins out a day before they were due to be collected.
"Zoe Watmough, 22, left the bins, a grey one and a green one for recycling, outside her home on a Wednesday ready for collection the next day.
"Council officers issued her with a £75 fine claiming that the bins had been put out 24 hours before they were due to be emptied.
"But the mother-of-three refused to pay and ended up facing magistrates in Bolton, where she was fined £125 and ordered to pay £125 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
[more]
A sorry tale, that really does not reflect well on this or any other Local Authority. Nor does this reflect well on the ability of those facing a penalty fine to understand that simply not paying is the wrong thing to do, no matter how sure they may be that it is inappropriate or unjust.
My own concern is about the often poor approach of many Local Authorities to hazardous wastes, including clinical wastes from domestic premises, and of discarded drug litter. For clinical wastes from patients receiving treatment at home, a nationwide audit of Local Authority service standards paints a gloomy picture. Some Authorities do not give details of their services, and there is thus no opportunity for independent audit.
By contrast, other - not including Bolton - insist that patients leave clinical wastes at the roadside to await collection by 8am, 7am, 6.30am, 6am, 4am, or simply on the night before collection. No doubt they would work hard to lay blame for any incident with the householder if an incident occurred, but anyone with an ounce of common sense would recognise that for these councils their approach to managing hazardous wastes is appalling, and must improve.
Those responsible should hang their head in shame. But that is no comfort to Zoe Watmough.
see also: Blenkharn JI. Clinical wastes in the community: Local
authority management of clinical wastes from domestic premises. Public Health
2008; 122: 526-31 [copyright conditions prevent unrestricted download of
this paper from the web site - please
email to request a copy)